Aircraft engine design and the higher than normal temperature point required to vaporize aircraft engine fuel make it virtually impossible to fire up most single or twin aircraft engines in below freezing weather, without preheat. Most airports do not have a preheater system and rely on putting the plane in a hanger for an hour or so. Otherwise, the airport preheater is a large ground heater and connecting hose which frequently cannot provide enough heat to start the engine. The only "portable" engine preheaters available for carrying along on the plane are expensive and bulky, operated off a large camper type gas cylinder. The combination takes up all the room and weight allowance for baggage. Such available preheaters do not provide efficient heat, are time consuming to operate, and are inappropriate for other preheating applications such as for engines in remote locations as occurs in logging, construction, and fishing activities. Nor do such preheaters, because of their bulk, lend themselves to general portable heater applications such as thawing out frozen pipes and drains.